Today we welcome Alicia Dean to Thursday Thoughts as she talks about Living in the Fifties....
Born in 1961, I barely
missed out on living in the 50’s. I’ve always been fascinated by that decade,
and while I can’t say I would want to be even older than I am now, I would have
loved to be a teen back then. I know it wasn’t quite as picture perfect as
shows like Leave it to Beaver and Make Room for Daddy would lead us to believe,
but still, in this hectic, hustle bustle, violent, hate-filled, crazy world
we’re living in today, wouldn’t you like to get a little taste of the peace and
simplicity of life back then?
Yes, there were some
imperfections sixty years ago, some things that needed to be fixed. The civil
rights movement was necessary and came none too soon. And women were not
treated as equals, and most were expected to stay home and raise kids and run
the household, but the women who wanted to did have careers. Granted, they did not
have the same opportunities as men. Cause yeah, not everything was perfect.
However, if you’ve watched very many Leave it to Beaver episodes, you’ll see
that June was often the final decision maker. She might have been a housewife,
but she was a strong and intelligent woman, and Ward seemed to respect her a
great deal.
In spite of its flaws,
overall, the decade of the 50’s was much more desirable than the world we’re
living in today. Sure, we’ve come a long way, but sometimes I think we’ve gone
just a little too far. Pardon me if the idea of sock hops, poodle skirts, soda
fountains, low crime rates, and respect for your country and your fellow man
holds a certain nostalgic appeal.
For me, one of the main appeals of that time is that Elvis Presley burst onto the scene. I can’t imagine being around to actually see it happen. I’ve always wondered how I would have felt if I’d been a teen in 1954 when he started, or 1956 when he shot to fame. I assume I still would have been an avid EP fan. Would I have had a chance to see him in concert? What would have been my favorite song, if I had heard his unique brand of rock and roll before I’d been exposed to other kinds of music? Short of discovering some kind of time machine, I suppose I’ll never know. But it is fun to think about. J
Because of my fascination with the era, and my love for Elvis, I wrote a Vintage Romance set in 1957. Even in my story, things aren’t exactly perfect. If they were, it wouldn’t be a very interesting story, would it? I’m pleased that The Wild Rose Press released my story today, January 8, on what would have been Elvis’ 80th birthday. As you probably figured out, I took the title from a line in Heartbreak Hotel, which was Elvis’ first million selling record.
Check out End of Lonely
Street and enter to win GREAT prizes…
A Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY: - Entries
accepted from January 8, 2015 through noon on January 22, 2015
Three prizes –
Elvis Gift Basket
including DVD, CD, plus more
$25 Amazon Gift Card
$10 Amazon Gift Card
First place winner has
first choice, second place winner has second choice, third place winner
receives remaining prize.
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Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching her favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, The Mindy Project, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, she will forever be a fan). Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.
Find Alicia here:
Can she let go of the past, before it destroys her future?
All Toby Lawson wanted was to go to college to pursue her dream of
becoming a teacher and to be free of her alcoholic mother and the painful
memories of finding her and the guy Toby loved kissing. But when her mother
nearly burns the house down, Toby must put her dreams on hold and return home
to care for her. The only time she isn’t lonely and miserable is when she’s
listening to her heartthrob, Elvis Presley. His music takes her away, helps her
escape from everything wrong in her life.
Noah Rivers has always loved Toby, but no matter what he says, and even
though she knows her mother initiated the kiss, and that he didn’t kiss her
back, she can‘t seem to get past what happened. He soon realizes that the true
problem lies in Toby’s belief that she’s not good enough for him and in her
fear that she will be just like her mother.
What will it take to prove to her that she deserves to be happy, and that
he would give anything to be the man to make her dreams come true?
Excerpt:
Chapter
One
Mapleton, Tennessee,
November, 1957
Toby
Lawson closed her eyes and shut out all sounds of the diner, except for Elvis
Presley’s voice. He was crooning about how she was the only one for him…no
matter where he went or what he did… he’d spend his whole life loving her…
Rough
hands landed on her waist and shattered the fantasy. She caught a whiff of hair
tonic and too much cologne, and she snapped her eyes open. Wes Markham’s
hateful face replaced the image of Elvis’ beautiful, crooked smile and
smoldering blue eyes.
“Let
me go.” She gritted her teeth, keeping her voice low. If her boss, Mr.
Winstead, knew there was trouble on account of her, he’d explode. He’d barely
let her have the job in the first place. Everyone in Mapleton knew the Lawson
women were trouble.
“Come
on, honey. If you like that hip swivel, Presley ain’t the only one who’s got
it. I got it too.” He released her with his left hand so he could run it over
his slicked down hair and gave her a big-toothed, wolfish smile. “Only we’d be
naked.” He shot a cocky grin over to his two companions—Chuck Stenson and Billy
Garfield—who were leaning against the jukebox making kissing and whooping
sounds.
Toby
gripped his right wrist with one hand, tightening her hold on the utensils she
held in the other. “I said let me go. Now!”
“Aw,
be a sport, Green-Eyes.”
The
bulge of his pelvis pressed into her abdomen, and she gasped in shock. Nausea
tightened in her esophagus. “Wes Markham, I’m warning you…”
She
shoved against him, but he didn’t budge.
He
pulled her tighter. “Your momma’s a whole lot friendlier than you are. They say
the apple don’t fall far from the tree, so how’s about you cut the pretense and
we go someplace quiet? Winstead won’t miss you for a few minutes.”
Her
cheeks heated. She didn’t dare look around. No doubt the customers were
watching, listening. Elvis had stopped singing and everyone in the place could
hear what he’d said about her mother. It wasn’t like they didn’t all know,
though. Constance Lawson hadn’t exactly kept her escapades a secret.
Toby
clenched her teeth and brandished the utensils. She spoke loud enough for
everyone to hear. “Release me this instant, or I swear, you’ll be pulling this
steak knife out of your eyeball.”
He
held her gaze for a split second, then gave a laugh that was somewhere between
nervous and furious. “Sure, sure. Okay.” He released her and stepped back. “I
was just foolin’ around anyway. I got better things to do with my time than
waste it on a used up chick like you.”
Muffled
laughter rose around her. Oh God, she could crawl into a hole.
“How
about you apologize to the lady, then beat it?”
Toby
whirled at the male voice. Noah Rivers stood behind her, looking handsome and
sharp in his police uniform—even with his dark hair in the military buzz cut.
Her knees weakened, and tingles swept over her skin. She swallowed against the
sudden dryness in her throat. She’d heard he was back, but hadn’t seen him
until now. And what a time to have a reunion.
*** 10% of all of Alicia Dean’s net royalties for End of Lonely Street will go to
The Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation http://www.graceland.com/epcf/ ***
Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has three grown children and a
huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary
suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few
vintage historicals.
Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching her favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, The Mindy Project, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, she will forever be a fan). Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.
Find Alicia here:
Website: http://aliciadean.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alicia_Dean_
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aliciamdean/
Well friends, hope you enjoyed this guest post too! Stay tuned each week for more Thursday Thoughts, Saturday Spotlights and Tuesday Treasures!
Until next time....take care & God Bless!
PamT
1 comment:
Thank you bunches for having me on your awesome blog!
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